Last



W. A. KRENTLER June 26, 1923.

LAST

Filed Oct. 5 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 28, 1923 W. A. KRENTLER LAST Filed Oct. 3, 1918 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 V N A i June 25, 1922,.

1.460.358 W. A. KRENTLER LAST Filed Oct. 5, 1918 s Sheets-Sheet 5 fiawen zar Patented dune 26, 1923,.

ljhlllllidfi l i tiiltd @FFEE,

WALTER A. KRENTLEB, 0F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB TO KRENTLER-ABNOLD HINGE LAST COMPANY, 013 DETROIT, MICHIGAN, .A'CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

LAST.

Application filed October 3, 1918. Serial No. 256,732.

T 0 all 1457mm it 12mg; conceive Be it known that 1, Human it. Knnn'riinn, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Detroit, Michigan (whose post-oilice address is 1001 Majestic Building, Detroit, Michigan), have invented an improvement in Lasts, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification. like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to last-s and is particularly concerned with standard heelparts for lasts. As is well understood by those skilled in this art, the changes in the styles of lasts involve chiefly variations in the shape, dimensions and contour of the toe portion of the lasts and rarely involve substantial changes in the heel part of the last. Art the same time the heel part is the more expensive portion of the last since it carries all the hardware and requires the greater part of the manufacturing expense both for labor and materials; and this portion Of the last, as just stated, does not vary substantially with changes in the style of last. It was therefore proposed many years ago to manufacture lasts having a standard heel part with which any one of a number of :Eoreparts could be used interchangeably so that the change from one style of last to an other would involve merely the substitution of a forepart of the new style for the forepart of the discarded style, the same heelpart being used with both foreparts. This construction would have not only the advantage of saving the expense of manutacture of a new heel part, but also that of per mitting; the use of smaller blocks of wood from which to manufacture the lasts. since obviously a much smaller block is required from which to turn simply a 'lorepart than is necessary to make a whole last.

While a great deal of inventive and de velopment work has been done to accomplish this object and such efforts have extended over a long period oi? years, none of these efforts have proved commercially successful. There are many reasons for the failure of these efforts, among; which may be manipulating the shoe in presenting it to the various machines and carrying it through the different steps of the process of manu- I&Ctl11-a This was ob ectionable both. to the workmen, becaus c it made their labor more arduous, and also to the manufacturers, because the increased weight which the operatives were required to handle reduced production to a very appreciable extent.

A further diliiculty encountered with these constructions was that of changing the foreparts; that no entirely satisfactory e0nnccting means between the heelpart and forepart has been developed, so far as I am aware, which will permit the degree of interchangeability between the heel and foreparts that is necessary to secure the ends in view and still form an or bond between entirely satisfactory union these parts.

It has also been found that in order to secure the maximum advantage to be gained from the use of a standard heelpart and thus warrant the expense necessary to make this part of the last as indestructible as it should be to properly fulfill its functions, it was necessary to make some provision for adjusting the width of the heelpart so that it could be fitted to or foreparts vary foreparts of different sizes mg so substantially in style that they involved variations in the width of the rearward that the capacity end of the forepart that It i obvious for adjusting the dimensions of the heelpart is an especially desirable feature, since it reduces very substantially the numberof heelparts that a roanu tacturer must keep on hand in order to give him an adequate stantially in style and size.

have been made supply oi? lasts varying sub- Attempt's also to accomplish this object but these attempts likewise have proved unsuccessful, so far as I have been able to learn, due to th e difiiculty in making the the difiiculties which have heretofore existed in the various prior constructions of lasts of the standard heelpart type and to devise a thoroughly practical construction of this character.

To this end the invention provides a heelpart, preferably made of metal, but so constructed that it does not weigh substantially more than a wooden heelpart and still gives the desired rigidity and resistance to breakage which is required to withstand the strains to which it is subjected in use, such for instance as the blows of the heeling ma chine. The invention also provides a thoroughly practical means for securing the heel and foreparts together which. facilitatesthe interchanging of foreparts and still gives the strength and rigidity necessary between these two parts.

A further feature of the invention is a novel construction whereby the heelpart of the last may be adjusted in width to fit the forepart. Means is provided which not only permit this adjustment, but maintain at all widths substantially smooth, unbroken, shoe supporting surfaces on the heelpart and in which the heelpart is, to all intents and purposes when once adjusted, a rigid one-piece member. 7

An illustrative embodiment of the invention will now be described in detail and the novel features will be pointed out more particularly in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in cross section, of a last equipped with a heelpart embodying this invention, one side of this heelpart being removed;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the inside of one of the side members of the heel;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the heelpart of the last;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the heelpart shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the heelpart adjusted to a greater width than in the condition shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the heelpart shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of a different form of central or spacing member to be used with th side members of the heelpart shown in the other figures;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a still further Ir'onodified form of central or spacing menr g 9 is a horizintal cross sectional view through the heel part of the last showing a still different form of spacing member;

Fig. 10 is a front elevation of the spacing member shown in Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing a different connecting means between the heel and fore parts of the last; and

Fig. 12 is a horizontal cross sectional view through the upper end of r a heelpart equipped with a spacing member of the type shown in Figs. 7 and 8.

The construction shown in Fig, 1 comprises a forepart 2 and a heelpart connected to the forepart by a. hinge member including a tube 3 which enters a hole bored for it in the forepart and is secured in this hole by a rivet 4. A similar rivet or pivot pin 5 secures the heelpart to the rear end of the tube 3 and allows the heelpart to swing relatively to the forepart. This connection between the two parts of the last is similar to that shown in my Patent No. 1,094,153,

granted April 21, 1914, which has proved highly satisfactory in actual use.

The heel portion, as above stated, preferably is made of metal and comprises two side members 6 and 7, respectively, and a central spacing member 8. The side members preferably each consist of hollow metallic shells made, for instance, by punch-- ing sheet metal into the required form in suitable dies or they may be made in any other convenient manner. Each of these side members is provided with bottom, side. and top faces, and together they constitute the greater part of the shoe supporting surface of the heel portion of the last. The central member 8 is wedge-shaped, as clearly sllOWn in the drawings, with its wide end at the forward face of the heelpart and it tapers backwardl to an edge permitting the rear edges of the side members 6 and 7 to meet at the back of the heelpart and form the shoe supporting surface of this portion of the last. i

The adjustment of dimensions of the heel part is effected by removing the central spacing member 8 and substituting for it another spacing member of the size and shape re quired to cooperate with the side members to produce a heelpart of the necessary dimen sions. For the purpose of reinovably securing the side and central members together a number of different constructions may be used In the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, the central spacing member 8 is provided with two sets of ears or lugs 9 located at opposite sides thereof. four ears preferably being used on each side, two near the top or cone of the heelpart, and two more near the bottom or anvil surface of said part. The side members 6 and 7 are also provided with cooperating lugs indicated one pair of which projects downwardly from the top of each side member, while the other at 10, Fig. 2.-

member 8 pulled "forward and the two side members 6- and T are pressed" against opposite sides oftheniember .8, the lugs 1.0

will interlock with, the. lugs. 9, as clearly either in this socket or on the top of the shownin Figs. 3 andf). Thelugs 9 on the central member are located so close to the top and bottom surfaces of the heelpart that they engage the inner top and bottom surfaces of the side members and thus prevent any relative vertical movement of the three parts of the heelpart. It will also be understood froman inspection of Figs. 8 and 5 that the engagement between.

these two sets of lugsis such thatthey pre vent any relative lateral movement of the three parts of the heel portion. Consequently, the onlymovement permitted by this" construction afterthe partshave been as sembled as shownin Figs. 3 and 5.15; a relstive movement longitudinally of the last permitting the central member to move rear wardly relatively to the side members 6 and 7. This movement, however; is prevented by the pivot pin 5; It will be seen that each of the side members 6 and 7 is providez'l with a vertically extending ear or knuckle indie cated at 11 and 12, whilethe centralfmember S is provided with a similar-knuckle 13. Holes. are drilled horizontally through these knuckles to receivethe pivot pin 5 and when this pin is in its operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, it prevents any relative longi tudinal movement of the parts 6, 7 and 8. The three members that constitute the heelpart therefore are secured together so rigidly that they constitute, to all intents and purposes so far as the shoe making operations are concerned, a solid heelpart. The knuckles l1 and 12 turn in sockets termed for them in the end face ofthe torepart 2 in thesame way tliat the knuckle of a solid heelpart turns in these sockets and the knuckle 13 enters a split or saw-cut termed in the'rearend of the tube 3 and thusco operates with the abutting aces of the fore and heel parts to'prevent any twisting or lateral movementof the heelpart relatively to the forepart. 1

It is obvious that very substantial adjust merits in width may be made by this arrangement although thevariation indicated. in Figs. 3 and 5 probably is fully as great as would be required in actual practice.

lVhile the central spacing member 8' usually is wedge-shaped namely, from :tront to rear. it may also be tapered. vertically. it desired, as indicated in Fig. 4 so that the top and bottom of the side members will beheld apart by different distances instead of being uniformly spaced apart atany point. longitudinally of the heelpart. This construction enables the shoe ing member is shown inFig. 7.

(See Figs; 4 and 6.).

in one direction only.

manufacturer toseoure a very-accurate fit between the heelpart and different toreparts merely by using a suitable shaped spacing member 8., i

It will. be noted that the central spacing member carries the jack spindle socket l4; and the spindle 1.5.maybe made to bottom member 8.

A slightly different form of.ce ntral spacconstruction the lugs 9 are replaced by angle pieces 15 that are riveted securely to the opposite sides of the spacing member 8 and are spaced slightly from this iiember at theirftorward vertical edges in order to receive and lock the lugs lOonthe side members in the same way that the ears 9cooperate with these parts. The top and bottom edges of theseparts l5 bear againstthe upper and lower inner surfaces of the side members 6 and 7, so that they act as-struts or braces to support the. side members against pressure exerted on the heelpart in the direction of its height: This pressure in some of the shoe manufacturing processes is very severe indeed, as for instance in the healing operation, and the support thusv given to the heelpart is thereforexan nnportant practical consideration.

Fig; 8 shows a similar construction to of Fig. spacing member 8 and the lugs15to decrease theweight of the parts. i I A further modification is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 10 in which the parts 17, corresponding to the struts 15 of the arrange 'ment shown in Figs. 7 and 8, are extended amply capable of withstanding the blows,

pressure and rough treatment to which the issub eQted while in use. the hollow GODStTUCl/IOH gives this strength and rigidity without excessive weight.

Furthermore In this that shown in 7 but in the arrangement holes 16 are drilled throughthe llll) Fig. 11 shows thesame construction as that illustrated in Fig.1 except that the knuckle 13 at the forward endof the central spacing member 8 is shaped to cooperate with a ball 18 that is pressed by aspring 19 into engagemenbwith the-edge face of the part 13. A notch ilOis eutin the knuckle 3' in such a manner that it cooperateswith the spring; pressed ball 18 to hold the last normally in its extended position and yieldingly resists the collapsing movement of the last. "This construction is substantially like that illustrated in my prior patent above 1m designated. It desired however the; last parts tending to hold them in their straight ened relationship.

It wlll now be evident that when a shoe manufacturer wishes to change the style of his lasts it is merely necessary for him to substitute a new torepart possessing the requiredstyle tor the forepa-rt already in use. In order to effect this substitution it is merely necessary to burr off the headed over portion of the pin 4; and drive out this pin.

The tube-3 can then be placed in the socket in the new forepart and a rivet driven through and headed over to take the place of the rivet 4. It the new torepart is of the same size as the old one it will rarely be necessary to use a different spacing member, but if this for'epart should differ materially in size at its abut-ting face from the discarded forepa-rt, it is then desirable to re move both pins 4 and 5 and replace the central spacing member 8 with another spacing member of suitable dimensions to widen or narrow the heelpart to lit the new forepart. formsa last s rigid and usable in every respect as the ordinarylast and one having aheel portion far stronger and more substantial than that of the ordinary wooden last.

This construction is of particular value in those factories in which great attention is paid to stanardization of parts and it is of special. value at the present time when the difliculty of securing suitable wood for the manufacture of lasts has beengreatly increased. lVhile any suitable connection may be used between the fore and heel parts, the form of connection shown is pre- -lerred for the reason that it has proved highly satisfactory in. actual use and the change from one style of forepartto another involves a very simple operation.

lV-hile I have herein shown and described the best embodiments of the invention of which ll am at present aware, it is obvious that these embodiments may be variously modifiedwvithin the skill of the mechanic without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. A heelpart for a last comprising two members forming the opposite sides ofsaid heelpart, and a removable. spacing member between said parts serving to hold them in properly spaced relationship, and'means for connecting said heelpart to any one of a plurality of foreparts, said connecting means Such a change when once completed being operative to secure said parts of the heelpart in their operative positions.

2. A heelpart for a last comprising two members forming the opposite sides of said heelpart, and a spacing member between said side members, said side and spacing members having interlocking parts serving to secure said members together in cooperative relationship and against lateral movement with respect to each other but permitting the removal of said. spacing member.

3. A heelpart for a last comprising two members forming the opposite sides of said heelpart, a spacing member between said side members, said side and spacing members having interlocking parts adapted to be interl ckedby a relative movement of said members longitudinally ofthe last and arranged to permit the removal of said spacing member by a relativemoveme'nt of said members in the reverse direction, and means for securing said members against said relative longitudinal movement.

L'A heelpart for a last comprising two hollow members forming the opposite sides of said heelpart, a spacing member between said side members removably secured to said side members, and interengaging parts on said side and spacing members cooperating to resist pressure exerted on the heelpart in the direction of its height.

5. A heelpart for a last comprising two hollow members forming the opposite sides of said heelpart, a spacing member between said side members removably secured to said side members, and struts carried by said spacing member and cooperating with said side members to resist pressure exerted on the heelpart in the direction of its height.

6. A heelpart for alast comprising two hollow members torn'iing the opposite. sides of the heelpart, a wedge-shaped spacing member between said side members locking lugs on said wedge-shaped spacing member. and means concealed within the heelpart and cooperating with said lugs for securing said members in their cooperative relationship.

7. A heelpart for a lastcomprising two members forming the opposite sides of the last and a wedge-shaped spacing member between said side members and removably secured to them, parts on said side and spacing members cooperating to secure said members together against relative movement in all directions except longitudinally of the last, and means arranged to be rendered operative or inoperative to secure said members against said relative longitudinal move ment.

8. A last, comprising a forepart, a heelpart having two members forming the opposite sides of said heelpart and a spacing member between said side members, interlocking parts on said side and spacing memname, to'this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Wit IIGSSGS. I

WALTER A. KRENTLER.

Witnesses: i Y

' A. H. Ame,

AUGUSTA L. RIE EL.

In testirnony whereof, I have signed my 10 e 

